Apprehended by Stanislaus sheriff’s K9, car theft suspect then tries to bite deputies
After having the bite put on him by a K9 early Wednesday, a car theft suspect in turn tried to sink his teeth into arresting deputies, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department reported.
Deputies assisted Modesto police officers in the pursuit of a Honda Civic reported stolen out of Ceres on Tuesday and driven by a suspect identified as Ceres resident Michael Garcia, 25.
Deputies’ involvement began around midnight Tuesday when Garcia was spotted turning southwest onto G Street n Modesto, Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Luke Schwartz said.
Modesto Police Department spokeswoman Sharon Bear said officers and deputies tried to pull over the Honda about 12:20 a.m. Wednesday in the area of Yosemite Boulevard and North Conejo Avenue. But before they could make contact with him, Garcia put the Civic in reverse, nearly striking a deputy, and then fled the area, the Sheriff’s Department said in a Facebook post.
Garcia continued to drive recklessly through a residential neighborhood. At Empire Community Park, he got out of the car and ran, the Sheriff’s Department said, but was captured by K9 Renzo. “Garcia continued to struggle with deputies upon apprehension, including trying to bite officers,” the Facebook post said.
No law enforcement personnel were injured during the pursuit and arrest. Garcia was booked on suspicion of evading law enforcement, auto theft, assault on a peace officer, probation violation, resisting/deterring an executive officer and possession of a stolen car.
“Upon arrest, it was learned that Garcia was released from custody only 15 days prior as a result of the Judicial Council of California’s emergency zero-bail mandate stemming from the COVID-19 health pandemic,” the Sheriff’s Department’s post says.
Garcia has an extensive criminal history, it says, including multiple prior felony convictions and a felony conviction for evading law enforcement, for which he went to prison. Garcia still was on post-release community supervision in Santa Clara County for the latter offense.
This story was originally published May 6, 2020 at 12:19 PM.
